Bruce Bartlett explains about the National Debt: What it is, how bad it is, why certain proposals to curtail it don't make sense. I won't pretend I understand this whole thing but that's okay. Neither, apparently, do a lot of professional economists.
Well, as expected, it turns out those great prices on Amazon yesterday were a computer-type error and folks who ordered are now receiving e-mails telling them so. In some cases, Amazon is just cancelling the entire order. In some, they're reportedly saying they will honor portions of the orders that were placed. A number of customers ordered dozens, maybe hundreds of books and Amazon is going to send them a few of what they wanted at the prices that were posted.
I have no idea how they're determining who gets some of their books and who doesn't. Maybe it has to do with what they ordered...how many copies are available, what it will cost them to make good on certain items. Maybe they're taking past customer loyalty into account...I dunno. I ordered a few books that weren't mispriced and seven that were...and I haven't heard anything yet. I'll let you know what happens.
Lots of folks who peruse this site are interested in the history of Marvel Comics. One aspect that doesn't get a lot of attention is that Martin Goodman, the firm's founder and publisher (until he sold the company in the late sixties) published other kinds of magazines, as well. His outfit, which was sometimes called Magazine Management, put out a lot of cheap "men's" magazines — some with macho adventure tales, some with pictures of undraped females. A lot of notable writers worked for that side of the company, including Mario Puzo (best known, of course, for The Godfather) and Bruce Jay Friedman, who wrote many fine stories and dramatic works, including the play, Steambath.
Josh Alan Friedman is a son of Bruce Jay, which also makes him the brother of the fine cartoonist, Drew Friedman. Josh is an accomplished musician and author, and his weblog has been serializing some interviews and pieces on the history of Magazine Management. Here's Part One. Here's Part Two. Here's Part Three. Here's Part Four. And here's Part Five. I hope there will be more.
I'm going to try to make this my last post on the "In Memoriam" segment since it's a macabre topic...though it does seem to matter to more people than care about, say, who won for Sound Mixing. This article discusses some of the omissions. Its author remembers, as I didn't, that Farrah Fawcett was in Cannonball Run but he doesn't mention Henry Gibson's most impressive credit, Nashville.
Also, this is a little thing but maybe not to some folks' families. On every one these awards show, it seems — Oscars, Emmys, Tony Awards — when it comes time for the "In Memoriam" reel, the TV cameras miss a couple of the first people. They're pushing in on a long shot and the prepared presentation doesn't go full screen right away until about the third person.
The first three people in the Oscar salute last evening were Patrick Swayze, composer Maurice Jarre and western actor Monte Hale. Swayze was clearly visible but I bet most people missed the next two. With all the fuss that gets made over who gets left out of these things, you'd think the producers of an awards show would make sure that those who are in are seen.
Okay, I'm done with this topic, at least until the next awards show.
March 9, 2010
